Citation Nr: 0310075
Decision Date: 05/27/03 Archive Date: 06/02/03
DOCKET NO. 01-09 696 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Portland,
Oregon
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Oregon Department of Veterans'
Affairs
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Carolyn Wiggins, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The appellant served on active duty from April 16 to May 17,
1994.
This appeal arises from a September 2000 rating decision of
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO)
in Portland, Oregon, which denied the appellant's claim for
service connection for a psychiatric disorder.
REMAND
Pursuant to a request from the appellant, a Board hearing was
scheduled in Washington, D.C., in June 2002, but she failed
to appear for the hearing. However, in a letter received by
the Board shortly thereafter, she indicated that she was
unable to appear due to financial hardship. Pursuant to a
subsequent request from the Board, the appellant indicated in
May 2003 that she wanted to appear before a veterans law
judge at the Portland Regional Office by videoconference.
Therefore, the case must be returned to the RO to schedule
such a hearing. See 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107 (West 2002); 38
C.F.R. §§ 19.75, 19.76, 20.703, 20.704 (2002).
In view of the foregoing, this case is REMANDED for the
following:
The RO should schedule the appellant for
a Board videoconference hearing in
connection with his appeal. After the
hearing is conducted, the case should be
returned to the Board, in accordance with
appellate procedures.
The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate outcome of
this case. The appellant need take no action unless
otherwise notified.
The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and
argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded to
the regional office. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369
(1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or
other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious
manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994),
38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West 2002) (Historical and Statutory
Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure Manual,
M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious
handling of all cases that have been remanded by the Board
and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-8.45 and
38.02-38.03.
_________________________________________________
R. F. Williams
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2002).